The way NPAworldwide members engage with one another has changed dramatically over the past several years. Pre-COVID, engagement often revolved around a familiar rhythm: annual events, regional gatherings, and in-person relationship building that benefited from shared meals, hallway conversations, and the kind of unplanned dialogue that happens when people are in the same room. For many members, those interactions were the “glue” that strengthened trust and made split collaboration feel natural.
Today, the landscape looks different. Zoom and Microsoft Teams have become part of the day-to-day operating model for nearly every recruiting firm, and NPAworldwide is no exception. It would be easy to assume that more screens automatically equals less connection. In reality, the shift has brought a new kind of engagement—one that is more frequent, more accessible, and, in many cases, more inclusive.
Pre-COVID Engagement: High-Impact, Less Frequent
Before 2020, member engagement often required a meaningful investment of time and travel. That investment created strong bonds, especially for members who could attend conferences regularly. The upside was depth: longer conversations, concentrated networking, and a stronger sense of community built through shared experience.
The constraint, however, was access. Travel costs, time zones, client demands, and family responsibilities meant that even highly committed members sometimes had limited ability to participate consistently. Engagement could feel “event-driven”—valuable, but episodic.
The Post-COVID Reality: Frequent, Practical, and More Accessible
The adoption of Zoom and Teams did more than replace meetings; it changed expectations. Members now engage in shorter bursts, more regularly, and with less friction. That matters in a cooperative where collaboration is built on responsiveness, visibility, and momentum.
Virtual engagement also lowers barriers for participation across geographies. A member who might not have been able to justify long-distance travel can now join an Area Meeting, contribute in a Practice Group call, or participate in a discussion that leads to a split opportunity—without losing a full day to transit. For a global network, that’s not a small improvement; it’s an operational advantage.
Virtual Engagement Isn’t Second-Best—It’s a Different Tool
NPAworldwide’s engagement model has expanded, not contracted. Area Meetings via Zoom remain a consistent hub for relationship building and information sharing. Practice Group Zoom calls provide focused, functional interaction around specific specialties—often the exact environment where split activity accelerates, because the right people are in the same conversation at the same time.
These touchpoints can be highly effective because they are built into members’ workflows. They encourage real participation from members who are actively producing and actively collaborating—without requiring the long lead times and logistics that once limited engagement.
The Rise of Smaller In-Person Meetings
At the same time, something else has happened: members have increasingly leaned into smaller, more targeted in-person meetups. These gatherings often feel more practical than large events because they are easier to organize, less costly, and highly relationship-driven. They also tend to be more repeatable—allowing members to build trust through continued interaction rather than relying solely on one major annual touchpoint.
This trend reflects an important point: members still want face-to-face connection. They’re simply choosing formats that align with today’s realities—tighter schedules, leaner travel budgets, and the need to maximize time.
PowerUp’s Global Structure: Built for the Network NPAworldwide Is Today
One of the clearest examples of how NPAworldwide has adapted is the evolution of PowerUp into a more globally structured conference model. With conferences designed across key regions—North America (USA), Asia, EMEA, and Australia/New Zealand—the network is better positioned to serve members where they operate, in time zones and locations that make participation more achievable. This structure supports two outcomes at once:
- Regional relevance: Members can engage in programming and networking that reflects their market conditions, hiring dynamics, and cultural norms.
- Global connection: The broader PowerUp framework reinforces that NPAworldwide is one cooperative, globally aligned, while still respecting regional differences.
In a global network, engagement can’t be one-size-fits-all. A multi-region conference strategy recognizes that reality and supports stronger participation across the cooperative. Importantly, members are not limited to attending only the conference in their home region; they are welcome to participate in any PowerUp event worldwide. This flexibility allows members to broaden their relationships, gain exposure to different markets, and strengthen cross-regional collaboration while still benefiting from regionally relevant programming.
What This Means for Members
Engagement in NPAworldwide today is less dependent on a single annual moment. It is spread across the year through virtual interaction and reinforced through smaller in-person gatherings and regionally accessible PowerUp events. The result is a network that can be more consistently connected—especially for members who previously felt on the margins due to distance or travel limitations.
This is not a downgrade from the past. It’s a modernization of how relationships are built and maintained in a professional services environment that has fundamentally changed. The core purpose remains the same: trusted relationships that drive split collaboration. The methods are simply more diversified, more scalable, and better aligned with how recruiting firms operate now.
Moving Forward: Engagement as a Portfolio, Not a Single Channel
The healthiest view of engagement in today’s NPAworldwide is to see it as a portfolio:
- Area Meetings via Zoom for consistent regional connection
- Practice Group Zoom calls for specialty-driven collaboration
- More frequent, smaller in-person meetups for relationship depth
- A global PowerUp structure that supports participation across regions
Taken together, these channels create more ways for members to connect, contribute, and collaborate. The cooperative has not lost engagement; it has broadened its pathways to it.
The landscape will continue to evolve—technology, business models, and markets won’t stand still. But the cooperative advantage remains constant: when members stay connected in meaningful ways, they create more opportunity, more trust, and more splits.